Distinguishing Holy Spirits from Evil Spirits
How should
we refer to the spirits that belong to God and the spirits that belong to
Satan? What is the difference between a holy spirit and an evil spirit?
2 Pt 2:4
and Rv 9:14-19 both show us that God was not lenient on the angels who sinned.
He threw them into hell and chained them up in utter darkness until the day of
judgment. According to Ez 28 and Is 14:12, one of the archangels (cherubim)
claimed to be God. In Rv 9 the angels bound at the great river Euphrates
because of their betrayal turned out to be demons. This is why Rv 20:2 mentions
the dragon, the devil, Satan, and the serpent, which are all revealed to the
devil. How should we distinguish the angels who belong to God from the angels
who end up belonging to the devil?
The angels
who belong to God can be referred to as holy spirits, but the angels who belong
to the devil are evil spirits. The term “holy spirit” implies consecration,
while “evil spirit” implies wickedness. We should not simply call them angels.
We have to be more specific, saying either “good” or “evil” so that people
understand which angels we are discussing. Let’s examine how the scriptures
refer to these two kinds of angels.
• “The one whom God has sent speaks the words of God,
for he does not give the spirit sparingly,” (Jn 3:34). The spirit in this verse
does not only indicate one specific being (i.e. the divine).
• Each
person gathered in Mark's upper room was filled a holy spirit, (Acts 2:1-4).
• Jesus
breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the holy spirit,” (Jn 20:22).
• “...while
God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and
gifts of the holy spirit distributed according to his will,” (Heb 2:4).
• “...To
each person the manifestation of the holy spirit is given for the benefit of
all...” (1 Cor 12:4-11).
• Daniel
had within him a “spirit of the holy gods” (Dn 4:8-9).
• “I heard
a holy one speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking...” (Dn
8:13).
• “The
Lord my God will come with all his holy ones with him,” (Zec 14:5).
• “...when
he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels...”
(Lk 9:26).
• Cornelius
the Centurion was directed by a holy angel (Acts 10:22).
• “The
Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones,” (Jude 1:14).
• “Let us
make humankind in our image, after our likeness...God created humankind in his
own image, in the image of God he created them,” (Gn 1:26-27).
• “But the
one united with the Lord is one spirit with him,” (1Cor 6:17).
As we have
examined above, God creates and gives birth to people through his holy spirit.
Anything or anyone created by the spirit of God is holy. Any spirit that is
holy is the same as a holy spirit. Aren’t holy spirits simply angels who are
holy? Regardless of whether you are talking about angels or people, if they
have been created through the holy spirit, they are holy. The spirits that are
holy should be called holy spirits, and the people that are holy can even be
called holy gods according to Jn 10:35. If this is the case, anyone who belongs
to God can be called either a holy god or a holy spirit. The spirit of God,
however, is different from the spirits created by God. Just as a father cannot
become his own son, the creator God cannot become a created spirit or flesh.
Figuratively speaking, the foundation stones, supportive pillars, and the rafters
are all quite different despite the fact that they come together to form a
single house (Eph 1:23, 2:21-22).
No comments:
Post a Comment